WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for L Arkansas R Upstream of Asr Fac near Sedgwick in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
L Arkansas R Upstream of Asr Fac near Sedgwick is a gauged river in the Little Arkansas watershed in Kansas.
The station’s record runs back 14 years, which is enough to show a clear seasonal shape. The highest typical month is June at 5.83 ft (1.78 m), and the lowest typical month is October at 4.58 ft (1.4 m). That works out to a typical annual swing of 15 in (38.1 cm).
The extremes matter more than the monthly average. The record high is 29.53 ft (9 m), set in May 2019. The record low is 3.35 ft (1.02 m), set in August 2024. For someone watching a crossing, an intake, or a dock, that is the range that has to be tolerated.
On plains streams, spring and summer storms can push water up fast, while dry spells can let it fall back for long stretches. That matches the pattern here: modest typical levels, but room for sharp departures when rain lands on already wet ground.
This gauge sits in the Little Arkansas watershed. The numbers above are for this station only, not the whole basin. That distinction matters when comparing nearby gauges, because local rainfall can load one reach while another stays near its usual range.
The peer stations listed for this reach are Emma C at Sedgwick, Floodway at L Arkansas R at Valley Center, L Arkansas R at Alta Mills, L Arkansas R at Highway 50 near Halstead, L Arkansas R at Valley Center, and L Arkansas R near Sedgwick. They give a sense of how conditions can vary along the same river system.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same height can mean something different in June than in October.
With 14 years on record, USGS can place today’s water level in context instead of just reporting a number. If today is above the median, the river is running higher than usual for this date; if it is below, it is running lighter than usual. For people living beside the river, that daily comparison is the quickest way to judge whether the channel is behaving normally for the season.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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